Workshop lighting upgrade advice required please.

[Blister]

Not sure where to put this ?

I have a double garage , No deviding wall between, It currently has only 2 strip lights , The old fluorescent tube type.
I need to upgrade and was thinking of 8 LED battens 4 down each side , But what do I use ? , My workshop is mainly for woodturning , I do have a few other basic machines , I understand some types of led's can cause ghosting ? Do I need daylight ? If I do what brightness , Also when looking some makers say you can link them together with power leads , These are not very long so all 8 lights would be close together , Not good , Ideas ? or advice please . Thanks

 

[Spectric]

My workshop is mainly for woodturning

Don't overthink the issue, replace the old tubes with modern equivalents to give overall background lighting, six would be more than adequate and daylight is the colour I use but it does not suit everyone. Then concentrate on the area where your lathe is located because this is where you want decent light on the job. You could use a light fitting on the wall behind the lathe and something like an angle pose lamp that can give direct light where you want it.

You need four light units to double the brightness of one identical light unit, so more light units is not always the way to go and it is better to use fewer but brighter units.

 

[kinverkid]

My double 40ft garage is a tandem type. I had my daylight LEDs fitted by an electrician last year. The lights are three single 6ft and a double 5ft perpendicular to the length of the garage. The double is and existing LED unit moved to the end where I do my turning where I could easily get away with another 6ft unit instead. On the lathe I have an anglepoise lamp and a sewing machine lamp on a magnet.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

My opinion is that you can never have too much light in your workshop.
My lighting is
8 X 18W LED tubes
8 X 12 W LED bulbs
3 X 100W LED bulbs (8,800 lumens, they have fans in them)
3 X 60W LED bulbs (about 5,000 lumens, also with fans)
+ tool specific task lights.
I am soon going to me adding some more task lighting.

NOTE these are switched in several different groups, you almost need sunglasses on, if I have them all on

 

[Stuart Moffat]

Consider 60x60 led panels. My workshop is 2 rooms each 10x5 the one used for woodwork has 2 rows of 4 panels. There is no ghosting at all, and the various lamps I used to use before on individual machines are all gone (and my eyes are lousy these days).
Stuart

 

[Spectric]

My opinion is that you can never have too much light in your workshop.

It is a law of diminishing returns, you reach a point where each light will contribute less and less to the overall perceived brightness until it makes no difference. It is not a question of quantity but getting the right light in the right place, for warehousing and storage then flooding an area using bay lights is great but if performing more hands on task then the light needs to be much closer and just over the bench is ideal. With excessive lighting you can also get issues with glare and reflection which can have a negative impact on safety.

 

[Inspector]

Here is some information on lighting levels. Illuminance - Recommended Light Levels

My shop is 57.7sq metres and I put in 16 batten LED lights of 4,000 lumens each. They are 6,000 Kelvins in brightness. The walls are unpainted OSB and if I ever get to the point of the room seeming dim I'll paint it white. As it is I don't have or need any task lighting since it is nice and bright. The battens are daisy chained together in 4 rows of 4 fixtures each (on 2 switched circuits). They came with little connectors to allow it and also with leads of 20cm or so each (longer up to 2 metres were available) to allow for bends or zigzagging. I bought from Alibaba as they were much cheaper than local companies in 2016. Now they are much more common locally and the prices are better but if doing it again I would likely import them again.

Pete

 

[sometimewoodworker]

It is a law of diminishing returns, you reach a point where each light will contribute less and less to the overall perceived brightness until it makes no difference.

That may well be true, however I haven’t got to that point yet

 

[Terrytpot]

Consider 60x60 led panels. My workshop is 2 rooms each 10x5 the one used for woodwork has 2 rows of 4 panels. There is no ghosting at all, and the various lamps I used to use before on individual machines are all gone (and my eyes are lousy these days).
Stuart

Did the same, my previous single garage had four led tubes with boarded walls painted white but now have a 6m square garage boarded with unpainted osb3 and illuminated by 6 panels 600x600mm. Could maybe use more but any area with a specific need for light is lit well enough.

 

[Tortoise]

How can I put this.... it also depends on your eyesight (maybe age...) and the task you're performing - plus the degree of reflection you have from walls and ceiling. My electrician said (about ceiling lights) "this will give you more than enough light", but he was wrong.

I fully agree with others who mention flexible nearby lighting as a supplement to the general workshop lights. It's the only way to avoid annoying little shadows when working on something intricate or where markings are hard to see.

 

[J-G]

[...] LED lights of 4,000 lumens each. They are 6,000 Kelvins in brightness. [...]

Sorry to correct you @Inspector - 'Lumens' is the measure of 'Brightness'; 'Kelvin' is the 'Colour Temperature'.

 

[Sideways]

I put up four x 4 foot led battens in a single garage workshop and then added a 5th directly above the metalwork lathe to eliminate shadows. They're 36W apiece so 180W and 27,000 lumens in total in a neutral white 4000K colour temperature (I dislike the harsh "blue-white").
The ceiling is quite low and I feel like I need a baseball cap to keep the glare out of my eyes !
It's very bright and except for the light being a bit close to my line of sight, I like how well I can see even for detailed work.

Gewiss Smart[3]. Quite pricey but they are a high quality sealed light.

 

[Yojevol]

+1 for 600 x 600 panels. I had 8 5' fluorescent tubes and I have slowly replaced them with panels as they failed. I now have a row of each down the workshop with the panels over the most used area. The only downside is fixing which in my case is more difficult than batons
Brian

 

[Jaydee]

+2 for the 600x600 panels. I have 4 in a standard single garage. They are 3600lm and 6500k so basically daylight balanced. It’s like working outside. No shadows, colours are true, no eye strain. The light is very diffuse, so no harsh glares. I have a 600mm led batten fixed under a shelf near my lathe just to up the light in that area. All in they burn about 200 watts, which given the light output is nothing. Just my two penneth worth.

 

[Richard_C]

You say you use it mainly for woodturning. Looking back, as my skills developed over the last 4 years the biggest single step forward was when I improved the lighting - I went from a big flourescent to a pair of LED battens but all of the suggestios here are sensible. It might look expensive but when you think about the cost of equipment, consumables and wood and the value of your time, it's an investment worth making.

(at 70+, I find I need a bit more brightness for most things inclusingh reading compared to 20 years ago )

 

[Inspector]

Sorry to correct you @Inspector - 'Lumens' is the measure of 'Brightness'; 'Kelvin' is the 'Colour Temperature'.

You don't need to apologize for correcting me. I don't mind sitting corrected when I have made a mistake.

Pete

 

[Spectric]

You missed out " visible light" and the fact a lumen is a quantity over a unit of time.

 

[Stevekane]

Daylight lamps produce a very harsh, blue and cold light,,its a bit like sitting in a fridge! Whilst a nice Warm Lamp is just as bright but feels entirely different, for myself I just cannot see the benifits of Daylight lighting in a workshop? A few years ago I spoke with a lighting designer at Osram who said that Daylight lamps were great for Jewellers display cabinets as it made sparkly stuff sparkle,,
Steve.

 

[curryjunkie]

i used led panels, great value at 20 odd quid each i have four in my 13 by 8 shed, but think 2 would be enough. its a pitch roof they came with hanging chains and were easy to fix.or you can attach to battens on a flat ceiling.